D.C.’s notoriously cave-like Metro stations will get a lighting makeover over the next two years – its first lighting upgrade since the system opened in 1976.
The station’s dim “coffee can” lighting system, which critics have called dangerously dim, will be replaced by brighter and more energy-efficient bulbs by 2015, according to a D.C. Metro press release.
“The new lighting will provide for better visibility and in turn, improve safety, security and the overall customer experience for riders as that make their way through the Metrorail system,” said Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles.
The Judiciary Square, Gallery Place, Bethesda, Metro Center and Smithsonian stations are already using the new systems.
The decision to improve lighting comes from a partnership between Metro and community groups like National Capital Citizens with Low Vision and the Accessibility Advisory Committee, which have called for better lighting to increase safety for wheelchair users and the visually impaired.
A 2012 Washington Post report found that lighting improvements could cost nearly $25 million.
